Black Sea Wheat Exports Rising 40%

LONDON — Wheat exports from the Black Sea region are set to jump as much as 40 percent this month as buyers seek cheaper supplies from Russia and Ukraine, according to grain trader Nidera.

Shipments from the countries and Kazakhstan may reach 3 million to 3.5 million tons in July, said Francesca Kleemans, director of strategy and research at the Nidera Handelscompagnie trading arm. That compares with 2.5 million tons a year earlier.

"In the Black Sea area, we are going to see a huge crop," Kleemans said Monday. "It's going to come out, and it will find good buyers. All of those who haven't bought are lining up."

Egypt bought Russian-grown wheat this month for the first time since last year. The Eastern European country has a cost advantage of as much as $40 a ton over wheat from the United States and Western Europe, according to Paris-based farm adviser Agritel.

Egypt agreed to buy a total of 360,000 tons of Russian wheat in two tenders this month. Rotterdam-based Nidera will deliver 120,000 tons of that amount.

No normalization of ties between Ukraine and Russia is likely unless the region of Crimea, now under Russian control, is returned to Kiev's sovereignty, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Tuesday.

Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin and Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis, has been shot dead outside the Kremlin in a murder that underscored the risks taken by the Russian opposition.

The murder of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov has dampened any hope for a peaceful political transition in Russia away from President Vladimir Putin's government, Garry Kasparov, a prominent opposition voice, has said.

A spokesperson for Moscow's information technology department has denied media reports that some of the surveillance cameras around the Kremlin had been switched off at the time of Boris Nemtsov's murder.

The U.S. State Department and FBI have announced a $3 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Russian Yevgeny Bogachev, the highest bounty U.S. authorities have ever offered in a cyber case.